Exhaled breath analysis by ion mobility spectrometry in children with asthma and cystic fibrosis

Background: In the past decade the measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath has gained widespread attention for the diagnosis and monitoring of various pulmonary diseases. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is currently considered the gold standard for VOCs analysis, albeit expensive and time-consuming. Recently, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been introduced as a rapid and sensitive alternative to GC-MS. Studies using IMS for exhaled breath analysis in children are lacking. Aim: To evaluate diagnostic accuracy of exhaled breath analysis by IMS in differentiating between children with asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF), and healthy controls. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in 53 children ≥ 6 years of age (range 6-20 years). In 20 children with moderate to severe asthma, 12 children with CF, and 21 healthy controls, breath was analysed using a multicapillary column/ion mobility spectrometer (MCC/IMS; Bu0026S Analytik, Dortmund, Germany). Results: In discriminating CF from healthy controls, 16 significant VOCs peaks were found of which one peak (P37) had highest diagnostic accuracy (accuracy 0.97, sensitivity 100%, specificity 95%, p Conclusion: This is the first study using IMS for breath analysis in children with asthma and CF. Diagnostic accuracy was high in discriminating CF from asthma and healthy controls, but poor in discriminating asthma from healthy controls.